Software That Helps Eliminate Work Duplication, The Sun (SMIOneStopSolution2001 Supplement), Wednesday, June 13, 2001

Software That Helps Eliminate Work Duplication
The Sun (SMIOneStopSolution2001 Supplement), Wednesday, June 13, 2001


According to International Data Corporation, Enterprise Resources Planning (ERM) is defined an application which, on a single brand basis, covers financial management, human resources management, distribution/materials management and manufacturing and production system.

KarenSoft Solutions Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian-born company, qualifies that criteria by offering KarenSoft, designed for the local business environment for small and medium industries and enterprises. With the software, companies can make work a breeze, freeing employees from duplicating work.

KarenSoft Solutions Sdn Bhd, which was formed 10 years ago, has a software solution for manufacturing, hospitality and service industries.

The ERM that it offers covers sales distribution system, materials requirement planning, logistics management system, planning and production system, financial management cycle, human resources information system and customer relationship management.

"They are an integrated package and it would mean that the software helps eliminate work duplication and also enables personnel in different departments to have a supply chain view," said KarenSoft Solutions Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Chee Chong Hwa.

Take, for example, the sales distribution system which allows the sales/marketing department to have immediate access to customer information, track sales quotation and also initiate sale process based on sales orders.

The user can also monitor multi-currency pricing, order status, sales performance, product list, locations, date and even the salesperson via text or graphical analysis.

The Logistic Management System is designed for the Material Control Department to monitor material requirements based on sales orders or forecasts; similarly, the Planning and Production System is designed for the user to plan and schedule production.

The Planning and Production System, enables the monitoring of materials issued, machine performance, production flow, daily, output and quality control for each process.

Better cash flow management, capital expenditure budgeting and tax planning can be aided by the Financial Management Cycle, and the HR Management System covers everything from control time attendance, routine payroll administration to recruitment, compensation and leave.

Chee said most ERP solutions are foreign developed and thus do not address issues such as affordability, and suitability to local SMI/SME environment. They can fail to be user friendly and are run on expensive platforms such as UNIX.

KarenSoft Solutions Sdn Bhd offers affordable solutions to three budget groups and needs. The three packages are priced at RM38,800, RM78,800, and RM128,000.

"It is not only the budget that the system has to be tailored to but also the needs of the company," said Chee.

The software service is delivered ov the Internet for a rental which range between RM500 and RM5,000 per month. For the execution of the ASP Model, KarenSoft Solutions Sdn Bhd is working with world-class data centres to ensure reliable service.

With KarenSoft ASP Model, Chee added, the end-user enjoys benefits of data backups by Data Centre, minimising hardware investment, and does not have to pay upfront for software licensing.

Chee said KarenSoft ERP solution is designed to run on Windows 95/98/NT/2000 hardware platform and for the ASP Model, users need a Pentium PC with Internet connectivity.